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Ukraine-Russia-US talks conclude amid deadly airstrike on Kyiv
After the first day of trilateral peace talks mediated by the US, Russia launched an airstrike on Kyiv, resulting in casualties and significant power outages
The two-day trilateral peace talks between Russia, Ukraine and mediator United States concluded on Saturday, with no immediate clarity on which direction the negotiations took.
Further rounds of trilateral talks to end the lasting tensions between Russia and Ukraine would continue in Abu Dhabi next week, news agency AFP reported quoting a source.
This came just hours after Russia launched an overnight airstrike on Kyiv that killed at least one and wounded four others in the city. The strike also hit the power grid, that left nearly 1.2 million properties without electricity, according to a Reuters report.
Around 6,000 buildings in the capital city Kyiv were left without heating on Saturday morning as temperatures hovered around -10 degrees Celsius.
The trilateral peace talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States began on Friday.
As the countries met for the first time since the war broke out between the two neighbors, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed a Ukraine settlement with US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during marathon overnight talks, reported news agency AP.
In the overnight talks, Russia reportedly insisted that, to reach a peace deal, Kyiv must withdraw its troops from the areas in the east that Russia illegally annexed but has not fully captured.
Earlier on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a potential peace deal was "nearly ready".
The president made these remarks as he spoke at Davos in Switzerland.
UAE government on peace talks
A spokesperson from the UAE government on Saturday said that the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi focused on the ‘outstanding elements’ of the US-proposed negotiation, according to a Reuters report.
The talks were held in a constructive and positive atmosphere and included direct engagement between officials from both countries, the spokesperson added.
Did the talks include Donbas?
As the trilateral peace talks concluded, Russia's long-standing demand for Donbas remains at large. Although Donbas was expected to emerge a key sticking point of the trilateral peace talks, there has been no clarification on whether the two neighbors have settled down on the negotiation.
An eastern Ukrainian territory, Moscow has been demanding for Donbas for quite some time now. The region is made up of two coal-rich areas of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Rich in mineral deposits and fertile agricultural lands, Donbas is known for steel manufacturing and is connected to the Sea of Azov by rivers.
Russian President Putin's demand for Donbas has been turned down by Zelensky repeatedly.
Speaking at Davos, Zelensky made it clear that Ukraine was not going to hand over parts of its territory to Russia. “It’s all about the eastern part of our country, it’s all about the land,” Zelensky was quoted as saying by CNN.
(With agency inputs)
